Man killed in Johnston County tractor accident

A man culling tobacco in northern Johnston County died this morning when his shirt got tangled in a piece of equipment.

Mario Morales, 35, died late this morning after being pulled into a tobacco harvester, said Tammy Amaon, spokeswoman for the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. He and a group of other workers — harvesting for Nash County farmer Derick Bissette — had been clearing a crop of tobacco on 2153 Woodard Dairy Road, Amaon said.

Morales was operating a harvester alone, while several others worked on nearby equipment. Fellow workers were unable to pull him out of the machine in time, Amaon said.